Mishka

Mishka is sitting on the floor of the orphanage playroom, his chubby little body dressed in a bright blue t-shirt and a diaper. His short legs kick excitedly as he watches the TV, where a children’s music video plays, showing animated characters dancing to a catchy tune.

"Da da da da!" he babbles, waving his little hands in the air, trying to mimic the movements he sees on the screen. His little head bobs from side to side, and his chubby cheeks jiggle with each uncoordinated movement.

Suddenly, the door opens, and a smiling couple enters, accompanied by one of the caregivers. Little Mishka watches them with his one green eye and furrows his small brow, wagging a finger at them in a scolding manner while making reprimanding sounds "Ah ah aaahhh!"

Seeing that they are heading towards a couple of empty cribs, the baby rolls on the floor, doing a clumsy somersault before sitting up and clapping his hands to get their attention "Aaah aaah! Pa pa pa!"

The caregiver points towards little Mishka, but the couple only glances at him briefly before shaking their heads. The small baby freezes as he realizes they haven’t chosen him, and his lips begin to tremble. Quickly, he removes his pirate patch and waves it in the air, offering it to them desperately while blinking to hold back the tears.

"Aaah! Aaah!" But the couple has already left, taking a pair of different babies with them. Mishka stays there, holding his patch in his tiny hand, with big tears rolling down his cheek as he silently sobs. After a few moments, he wipes his eyes with his sleeve and turns back to the TV, watching the characters dance with renewed determination.

"Goo...ga...gu...ga..." he focuses on the dancing on the TV again, determined to learn all the moves. His little eyes shine with determination as he thinks "Mishka learn many twicks. No one take fwiends! I take care all!"

Little Mishka is crawling as fast as he can down the orphanage hallway, his chubby little body moving in jolts as his arm waves his inseparable pirate patch in the air. His cheeks shine with excitement and determination as his tiny hands and knees scuffle across the carpet

"Ah! Ah! Aaah!" he babbles nonstop, trying to get the caregivers' attention with his baby sounds.

As he rounds a corner, he comes face-to-face with one of the caregivers hurrying along with a pile of clean towels in her arms. Mishka's eyes light up when he sees her.

"AAAAH! AAAAAAAH!" he squeals, waving his little hand more insistently, stopping right in front of her with a big grin showing his few tiny teeth. "Mishka, sweetie, what are you doing here all alone?" The caregiver looks at him affectionately, stopping in front of him.

"Ah! Twick!" the little one responds, sitting up on his bottom and clapping his chubby hands together. "Aaah aaah!" The young woman chuckles softly and nods. "Alright, show me your new trick."

Excited, Mishka drops to the floor on his belly and starts rolling sideways like a little ball, turning a few times before ending up sitting on the floor again, clapping and laughing. "AAAAH! Twick! Twwiiiick!"

"Awww, what a sweet baby." The caregiver claps for him too before continuing on her way with the towels. Mishka sits there, watching her walk away with a big smile on his face. His little hands clutch his pirate patch tightly, and he nods with determination.

"Twwwicks! I protect friends! AAH!" He starts crawling quickly down the hallway again, determined to perfect more tricks so that no one will ever take his little friends away again.

Mishka sits in a corner of the playroom, hiding behind a pile of cushions. His little hands cling to his inseparable pirate patch as he watches with his one wide eye as a group of strangers enters through the front door.

He babbles softly, shaking his little brown head. Tears begin to roll down his chubby cheek as he sees them approach the cribs of his friends.

He bursts into tears, covering his face with his hands and shaking his chubby body. He doesn’t want to see another one of his friends taken away. "Why are you crying, little one?" A tiny voice startles him. When he looks up, he sees a girl, about 5 years old, looking at him with curiosity.

"Waah! Gaaah!" Mishka points at her with his hand and then towards the door, shaking his head vigorously. The girl sits down next to him and pats his chubby back. "Don’t cry, baby. Those people aren’t bad. They’re mommies and daddies who don’t have little ones, so they come here to find one."

Little Mishka stops crying for a moment and looks at her with his mouth open, sniffling. "Yep, they’re sad because they don’t have a baby to take care of." The girl nods solemnly. "That’s why they take some of you, so they won’t be so lonely and finally have a little one."

Mishka’s eyes light up, and a smile begins to form on his lips. He wipes away his tears and looks toward the cribs where the strangers are holding some of the other babies. He squeals, waving his little arms, and crawls as fast as he can towards the front door.

"Eeey! Eeeey!" He exclaims as he sees one of the babies being held by a smiling couple. He sits in front of them and starts clapping excitedly. "Eeey! Eeey! Aaah!" The caregiver approaches and picks him up. "Looks like little Mishka wants to say goodbye to his friend."

Mishka beams and waves his chubby hands at the other baby and their new parents. "Gaaah! Gaaaah! Aaah!" His eye sparkles with excitement as he realizes that his friend now has a family to care for and love him. Now, he’s determined to learn all the tricks he can so that someone will choose him soon too.